Richard Linklater signs on to direct The Bad News Bears

Bad News Bears: School of Rock helmer Richard Linklater has signed on to direct the The Bad News Bears remake set to star a perfectly cast, or rather re-cast, Billy Bob Thornton.

Linklater, formerly a stalwart of the indie scene, scored a solid commercial hit when he directed Paramount's 2003 comedy School of Rock, which grossed $81 million domestically. He is currently in theaters with Before Sunset, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.

He also has been tapped to direct The Smoker for Paramount. That project was scheduled to begin production in the fall, but it will likely move back to film after Bears, with an exact date still to be determined.

The Paramount Pictures project is due lense this November. The original 1976 feature starred Walter Matthau as a beer-chugging manager who transforms a group of Little League misfits into well, a loosing team, but one that looses like Rocky lost in the first one – with their pride not only intact but enhanced.

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the writers and creative team behind the Thornton’s hit Bad Santa, will be penning Bear’s screenplay.